Egypt's small farmers left in the dust by Sisi's agricultural project
The first round of the 1.5 Million Feddan Project, launched by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to fight unemployment through sustainable agriculture, stirred angry reactions from small farmers who only received 1% of the lands, while the rest was allocated to big companies.
CAIRO — Egyptian parliamentarian al-Sayyed Higazi presented March 20 an urgent statement to Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, with regard to the implementation of Article 7 in the book of conditions of the “1.5 Million Feddan Project,” announced by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in December 2015.
The 1.5 Million Feddan Project aims at reclaiming desert lands and investing in them by tapping into groundwater and aquifers. The first phase of the project, launched in October 2016, consists of putting 500,000 feddans (519,000 acres) in the cities of Farafra and Toshka in the New Valley governorate and Moghra in the Matrouh governorate up for grabs.
Article 7 of the project’s book of conditions provides for the right of small farmers and young people to invest in these lands.
According to the urgent statement, the Egyptian Countryside Development Company, which oversees the sale and distribution of the lands, granted 99% of the reclaimed lands to major investors and gave them the right to choose the plot of lands they wish, thus leaving small farmers with the less valuable lands.
